Car Emblems

[Stang88]

Do most leave the molded on emblems on your car kits and then try to paint them silver, etc or do most sand off the molded emblems and use kit decals to replace them?

I came across a part of Don Yosts DVD and he noted to always sand off the emblems and he used I think Keith Marks decal emblems and noted they looked almost raised and real. I find that hard to believe. I know Tamiya car kits come with photo etch stickers (or something like that).

Looking for feed back on the best aftermarket products to use to replace molded on emblems in muscle car kits like Nova's, Mustang's, Camaro's, etc.

[Chief Joseph]

Most of the common cars like Mustangs, Novas, Camaros, etc have photoetch sets available that usually include emblems. That's the easiest way to get replacement emblems. I think Keith Marks prints his emblem decals with Alps silver foil, which is very shiny and chrome-like although they have very little thickeness (I am an Alps aftermarket decal producer myself). But they are sharp, clean, and somewhat cheaper than photoetch.

[Stang88]

My understanding is that photo etch should be attached using some type of super glue (crazy glue). That is a very scary prospect using that type of glue on a nice shiny polished paint job.

[Harry P.]

My understanding is that photo etch should be attached using some type of super glue (crazy glue). That is a very scary prospect using that type of glue on a nice shiny polished paint job.

No, no, no! NEVER attach photoeteched emblems with super glue. Use either clear 5-minute epoxy, or better get, brush a tiny dab of clear enamel or acrylic on the spot where the emblem goes, let it tack up for a minute or two, and then attach the emblem using tweezers. This will give you plenty of time to finesse the emblem and get it placed exactly in the right spot.

[Bartster]

Thanks Harry, you may have saved a paint job.......I only sand off emblems if I'm going for a shaved, custom look. Otherwise I plan on using BMF. Haven't yet, but it's coming up really soon!

[Stang88]

Thanks for the tip. Can you tell I use to model aircraft and tanks. I used many photo etch details sets, but again we always used crazy glue to attach but again 90% was attached before painting.

So would Keith Marks be the best way to go or is there an aftermarket company that makes photo etch emblem stickers like the ones you find in the Tamiya car kits?

[Harry P.]

There are a lot of aftermarket sources for photoetched detail sets. here's just one:

http://modelcargarage.com/store/pc/viewCategories.asp?idCategory=11

[jbwelda]

> photo etch should be attached using some type of super glue

Future (aka Pledge with Future Shine or some such marketing driven nom de polish) is your friend here.

[wagonmaster]

I could never get the enamal to work for me when attaching photo etch. What paint should I use just testor clear or?????

I am not a fan of using floor wax on anything but floors. When I was in the service, guys in my flight use Futura on their boots for a shine. It wound up cracking and looking like ka-ka.

Tim

[jbwelda]

>I am not a fan of using floor wax on anything but floors

yes and i am not a fan of smearing super glue all over the nice paint job, which i am surely doomed to do.

so...

future is acrylic clear, just easier to use and in the case of using it to attach photoetch, its not going to be much.

[Kodiak Island Modeler]

Maybe I'm lazy, or just not a high quality modeler, but after spraying the primer coat, I hit the letters and emblems with silver paint, then spray the body color. When I use the polishing kit, I let the pads sand gently through the body color over the letters. It would never go in a contest, but looks fine on the shelf. On special models, I've spent hours and BMF'd each letter. What you use depends on the level you want to go into on a model, but I sure do like the photo etch route, but be sure that you have reference as to where the emblems are placed.

[Pete J.]

No, no, no! NEVER attach photoeteched emblems with super glue. Use either clear 5-minute epoxy, or better get, brush a tiny dab of clear enamel or acrylic on the spot where the emblem goes, let it tack up for a minute or two, and then attach the emblem using tweezers. This will give you plenty of time to finesse the emblem and get it placed exactly in the right spot.

MicroScale Kristal Klear - Best stuff on the market. A white glue that will tack up farily fast and dries completely clear. Shrinks as it dries so any excess around the edge pulls back under the photo etched and it remains flexible after dry. One other great feature is that it cleans up with water even after it has dried completely.

[Bartster]

Pete,

Where can I get some?

[crazyjim]

Some people lay down a piece of BMF over the emblem(s) before the primer coat. After the color coat dries LIGHTLY sand the emblem.

[Chuck Most]

Some people lay down a piece of BMF over the emblem(s) before the primer coat. After the color coat dries LIGHTLY sand the emblem.

That's what I do. The trick is some kits have VERY light emblem and script detail. In that case, Photoetch is about the only way to go. Many kits include the scripts and emblems as decals, which looks okay, but nowhere near a foiled cast-in or foiled piece.

[Evil Appetite]

I came across a part of Don Yosts DVD and he noted to always sand off the emblems and he used I think Keith Marks decal emblems and noted they looked almost raised and real. I find that hard to believe. I know Tamiya car kits come with photo etch stickers (or something like that).

They do look a little raised, probably because he uses a slight drop shadow behind the emblem

Edited February 12, 2012 by Evil Appetite

[Art Anderson]

One of my pet peeves for years has been scripts and badges that while they may have been engraved to scale depth (height as they "stand out" from the sheet metal surface) to the point that they disappear under a coat of paint (Of course, I learned to airbrush colors on model car bodies, years ago, thinly enough so as to not bury such details in so much paint that they could neither be painted nor foiled). I, along with a few other modelers have consistently lobbied model kit mfr's to consider this issue when tooling a new kit, and to some extent it as worked; although it will still continue to be a problem, certainly with modelers who use rattle cans as opposed to mastering the finer arts of airbrushing (for whatever of the multitude of reasons.

I owned, for about 10 years, both a 1958 Chevy Sedan Delivery, and a 1959 Chevy Biscayne sedan. Both cars had diecast chrome-plated scripts denoting their model series (Delray for the Sedel, Biscayne for the sedan). Now those scripts were at best only about 1/4" thick (high, as in relief, or how they stood out from the sheet metal), which translates into just .010" on a 1/25 scale model. it's been a bit of a fight over the years to convince model companies to make those scripts stand out a lot farther, even though that means they will be much higher relief than in scale, the concept here being that today, relatively few modelers ever build a model car without painting it, and there is that "need" among builders to pick out such details, be that with 1146 Chrome Silver, or Bare Metal Foil--either way, we want to see those scripts after a paint job.

Frankly, for my money, decal scripts don't cut it--those scripts in real life are shiny, sparkling chrome, not dull metallic silver paint. PE scripts, for all their fiddly nature, are at least shiny and bright, but still they have very flat surfaces (go look at ANY Impala, Bel Air, Biscayne or Delray script on a REAL car--they are anything BUT just flat, bland diecastings--no, they STAND OUT). But, some things from real life are pretty much unobtainable in miniature, so compromises must be accepted and are.

Years back, in my resin casting career, I investigated the possibility of having self-adhesive real chromium scripts made, ala those found in some higher end Tamiya kits of the era. The costs were scary, enough so that I backed off (don't remember the name of the process by which those were made anymore). They were real electroplated chromium, on a self-adhesive backing, and while not perfect, were the best thing since store-bought teeth when compared to PE, certainly decals.

In the meantime, one of the last things insisted on with the Moebius '55 Chrysler C300 is that the very delicate "C-300" scripts on the rear fenders, and the CHRYSLER lettering across the front fascia, that those very thin letters and numbers be increased by I think, 200% in depth (height, or standout from the body surfaces) from the last test shots, in order for them to be able to be foiled when built. Of course, I would be sure that someone such as MCG will come out with a PE set in pretty short order for this kit.

Art

[Harry P.]

I could never get the enamal to work for me when attaching photo etch. What paint should I use just testor clear or?????

I am not a fan of using floor wax on anything but floors. When I was in the service, guys in my flight use Futura on their boots for a shine. It wound up cracking and looking like ka-ka.

Tim

Future isn't wax, it's just clear acrylic. And it's not meant to shine boots... of course it cracked when the boots flexed and moved! But model car bodies don't bend and fold.

[Pete J.]

MicroScale Kristal Klear - Best stuff on the market. A white glue that will tack up farily fast and dries completely clear. Shrinks as it dries so any excess around the edge pulls back under the photo etched and it remains flexible after dry. One other great feature is that it cleans up with water even after it has dried completely.

Pete,

Where can I get some?

Almost any hobby store with carry it. It is by the same company that makes Microsol and Microset. In fact if your hobby shop has a rack of Microscale products, one of them will be Kristal Klear. It's good stuff!

[Rob McKee]

Almost any hobby store with carry it. It is by the same company that makes Microsol and Microset. In fact if your hobby shop has a rack of Microscale products, one of them will be Kristal Klear. It's good stuff!

I would second Pete's choice of glue. Zap glue also makes a glue called 560 Canopy glue. It is made to glue cockpit canopies in model aircraft. I use this stuff to glue the glass into my model cars and even to glue painted pieces such as spoilers onto the body. Like the Kristal Klear it will not damage the paint, has a great bond, and allows for boo boo cleanup with water.

[Mercman]

Some people lay down a piece of BMF over the emblem(s) before the primer coat. After the color coat dries LIGHTLY sand the emblem.

This is what I did on this one.

[wisco8]

Here is some really cool stuff to use, its Micro-scale decal restorer. Its used over older decals that have been cracked. I used it to do the photo-etched flaps on this 1/48 P-40N Warhawk, it shrinks to invisible. The way I used it was I dabbed a little where I want to place something and held it for a few seconds then added more until I was happy it wasn't going to fall off.  I did a pull test also and it worked pretty good. Try it with a spare and see if it works for you.

                                                                                                             Best regards, Steve Cook

[StevenGuthmiller]

Some people lay down a piece of BMF over the emblem(s) before the primer coat. After the color coat dries LIGHTLY sand the emblem.

This is the technique I use, except I use a little thinner to clean the paint off of the script.

& I don't foil before primer.

I wait until right before the final color coat so that the paint over the foil is very thin & easy to clean.

The trick is to cut the foil as closely as possible to the script, shoot your final color coat over it, clean it off & then clear over the entire body.

Sanding the script works, but care must be taken not to sand through the foil.

I've been using this technique for several years & it never fails me.

I get very nice results, even with extremely fine engraving.

You don't get much finer than the Buick insignia on the trunk lid of the AMT '61 Buick annual, & yet I'm very proud of the way that insignia looks on my built kit.

No need for messing with decals or photo etch IMO.

 

Steve

 

 

 

Edited September 21, 2016 by StevenGuthmiller

[unclescott58]

I'm still blown away by Steve Gunthmiller's work. Got to see the above Invicta last spring at the NNL North. A buddy and I were just about knocked over when we saw the car. Especially looking at the detail of that Buick badge on the trunk. If anybody knows anything about puts badges and scripts of models, it's Steve.

 

Edited September 21, 2016 by unclescott58

[Deathgoblin]

I've become a big fan of doing the foil under the primer/paint.  You can get very nice, bright and shiny emblems using this technique.  a pencil eraser will work well to clean off the foil and is a little less likely to sand through the foil.